TERRIERS OFF TO SALEM AFTER LOSS TO TALENTED BEES
The William Byrd football team might be jumping from the frying pan into the
fire this Friday when a heated rivalry with Salem renews at Salem Stadium. Game
time is 7:30 pm for the non-district game.
Byrd is coming off a 42-6 loss to a talented Brookville team, as the Terriers
dropped to 0-3 on the season. Salem is 1-1 after losing to Franklin County in
Rocky Mount last Friday. The Spartans had a golden opportunity to win the game
with a short field attempt as time expired, but the kick was blocked and
Franklin took a 14-13 win, their first over Salem since 1981.
As if it’s not enough that the Spartans will be anxious to erase that memory,
Salem will be playing a home game for the first time this season on Friday
night. Add some significant injuries to the Byrd team, and the Terriers will
have their hands full.
“With their tradition and the combination of their first home game after a tough
loss, they’ll certainly be ready to play,” said Byrd coach Jeff Highfill. “But
we won’t see anyone better than that Brookville team we played last week and we
were right in it at the half.”
Last Friday at Robert A. Patterson Stadium in Vinton the University of Alabama
and the University of Tennessee had scouts at the game watching Brookville. The
Bees have a defensive tackle who is among the top 100 prospects in the country,
and Highfill didn’t think he was the best player on the line.
“As a high school player I thought their other tackle was better,” said
Highfill. “Sometimes these colleges recruit on potential.”
Brookville came to Vinton with 46 juniors and seniors on a 49 man roster,
playing in Division 3. The Bees jumped to a 14-0 first quarter lead but the
Terriers battled back with a 68 yard scoring drive, their longest of the young
season, with Simeon Horstmann scoring from the two. Brookville countered with a
touchdown to make it 21-6, but Byrd was inside the 20 on a final drive before
the half.
“We had a chance to cut the lead to one touchdown by the half,” said Highfill.
“Typical young mistakes are killing us. We sent in four plays and two of them
weren’t called right. That happens when you play a lot of young kids.”
Brookville scored on a 57 yard punt return in the third quarter and from that
point it was all Bees. Still, Highfill saw some silver linings in the dark
clouds.
“We were playing against a powerhouse and we easily could have been one
touchdown down at the half,” he said. “The good thing is, our kids are still out
there fighting. They’re making a lot of mistakes, but those are things we can
work on. As long as they keep fighting we’ll be okay.”
Darryl Preston led Byrd with 55 yards rushing on three carries while Horstmann
finished with 39 yards rushing on 16 carries. D.J. Thomas had 15 yards rushing
and Jake Barton had eight. Jake was three for 12 passing hitting Seth Webb, Josh
Marcus, and Horstmann once each.
On defense Zach Hill led the team with 12 tackles, followed by Timmy Meador with
11 and Horstmann with 10. Simeon also had a fumble recovery.
After this week Byrd will get a bye, and it couldn’t come at a better time.
They’ll return from the bye with a game against Group A Glenvar and then begin
the Blue Ridge District schedule.
“We have some injuries but we should be getting most of those people back by the
district games,” said Highfill. “If we can keep a good mental outlook, and keep
fighting, we can work this out.”
The Byrd jayvee team lost to Brookville last week but bounced back with a 38-32
overtime win over Glenvar on Monday. The middle school team lost to Cave Spring
last week.
Today the jayvees will host Salem at 6 pm and the middle school is at Central
Academy for a 5 pm game.